


Reflection

by Lizzie_Tempest



Series: One-shots [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), i dunno, magic reflections, sans and reader argue a lot, should i call this angst?, this was inspired by a game of Would You Rather
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27309805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizzie_Tempest/pseuds/Lizzie_Tempest
Summary: "Would you rather have your loved ones disappear or watch as your reflection replaces you?""Easy.  I'd rather my reflection replaced me.""Why?""Because.  I couldn't live without my family.  But my reflection could turn out to be a better person than me.  They could be a doctor or something.  Who am I to deny the world a better version of myself?"
Relationships: Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Series: One-shots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/986262
Comments: 23
Kudos: 66





	Reflection

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you to my friend Tayla who actually asked me the Would You Rather question in the first place, giving me the inspiration.   
> Second of all I want to thank ask-basurtoj15 for giving me some help near the end of this because I got helplessly stuck and couldn't figure out how to progress it xD

You never once regretted your decision.

* * *

It had started with an argument between you and Sans. You couldn't even remember what it was about. You could remember yelling at your skeleton boyfriend and he had shouted back even louder. The more you two argued, the angrier the both of you became until eventually, the words between you turned spiteful.

"sometimes, i wish i'd never even met you!" He had shouted.

It was immediately clear that he regretted saying those words.

The house turned silent. The tiny white eyelights that had been filled with rage before, all but vanished in his sockets as you gaped at him. Tears spilled from your eyes and you stepped back from him, running from the house just as he reached out his arms, calling your name in a desperate attempt at taking back what he had said.

You didn't pay attention to where you were running to at the time. All you knew was that you wanted to get away. That anywhere was better than back there with someone who didn't seem to want you there.

You ran through the streets, taking twists and turns and getting very, very lost. At least, that was what you thought. When you finally stopped to take a breath, you found that you were on the edge of town. There had always been ghost stories about the houses here. You snorted to yourself at the thought. These houses weren't haunted. You had once lived in one of these houses when you were a little girl. In fact...

You walked further down the street, taking in the sight of the dilapidated houses that had been allowed to fall into such disrepair. It was such a shame. Some of these houses were beautiful, and if the right love and care had gone into them, the neighbourhood could've been restored to its former glory.

You just had to walk down the little pathway that led to the road where you used to live. It was so over-grown now. You brushed the low hanging branches of trees out of your way and side-stepped over-grown bushes filled with nettles and thorns. Just a little further and -

Ah! There it was! Your childhood home. Waves of nostalgia flooded you as you gazed at the faded brick wall, the tree that had been cut down, the driveway with its broken slabs of concrete, and the broken window right by the front door. It looked just like all the other houses. Sad and lonely. Even so, you couldn't stop the memories that flooded your senses as you walked up the pathway. Times where you and your brothers would have water balloon fights in the front yard, where the smell of cakes would bring you running to the kitchen and grabbing with grubby, little fingers before your mother would even have the chance to let them cool down, times where your father taught you how to ride a bike and then held you as you cried when you fell and scraped your knees.

Simpler times. _Happier times._

You knelt down and lifted up the plant pot that sat next to the door. The old spare key was still there and you grinned in triumph. You didn't want to put your hand through the broken glass window to see if you could reach the lock, but you would if it meant getting inside. It couldn't technically be breaking and entering if you had a key, right?

The key itself was a little rusted but still worked fine. Your phone began to ring and you jumped, startled. The noise sounded loud when it was as quiet as it was out here. You reached into your pocket and pulled it out and scowled when you saw the ID of the person calling. Sans. You huffed and switched your phone off. You didn't want to speak to him right now. You were still too angry and you needed time to cool off. If you spoke to him now then you knew something else would be said that the both of you would end up regretting later.

When you opened the door, you could tell immediately that the house hadn't been lived in for years. You hadn't been THAT old when you moved out of this house and into the city so your dad could be closer to work. It looked like no one had actually lived in here since then. You couldn't help but find that a little odd, but then you remembered how the other houses in the surrounding area had also been in various states of abandonment.

If no one had wanted to live in the houses, why didn't the council just knock them down and build something else in their place? You weren't complaining that your old house was still standing, but it just seemed to you like that's what would have normally happened.

You shook off the thoughts and closed the door behind you, deciding to head up the stairs. The old, wooden floorboards creaked loudly under your feet as you climbed up the stairs, causing you to flinch. There had been a time when you could remember which stairs would creak the loudest, and you made it a personal challenge to see if you could sneak down in the middle of the night, just to see if you could sneak any of your mom's home-made cookies. She caught you every single time.

You missed how she used to be so much.

It was because you missed her that you found yourself drawn to your parents' old bedroom. The air inside was stale, dust particles floating in the air and you walked over to the window to ease it open. You couldn't help gulping down a breath of the fresh air that flooded your lungs.

Leaving the window ajar, you turned back to the room. In your memories you could still see the king-sized bed up against the wall, the chest of drawers with the various bottles of your mom's perfumes on top, the closet with the boxes of your dad's collections of stamps and coins, and the photos hanging up on the walls. Now, the room was completely bare. It was depressing to see a room, that was once so full of life, like a complete void.

There was only a single object left in the room now. A full length mirror. You never did understand why your parents left it behind. It wasn't the same, posing in front of the tiny bathroom mirror, while dressed in your mom's dresses and high heels (how you never fell in them was a complete miracle). You always felt like a princess when you looked in this mirror dressed up, even though your face would be smeared in your mom's stolen make up and lipstick would cover so much of your face, you'd look like a clown.

Eh. It couldn't hurt to look one more time, right? For old times' sake?

As you stood in front of the mirror, you couldn't help but think that looking was a bad idea. But that was only because you looked absolutely awful. At least, you did in your eyes, anyway.

Your eyes were red and puffy from the crying you had done after arguing with Sans. Stars, you had not aged well. What happened to the adorable little girl that you used to be? You hated that you looked so different than what you used to be. You felt your lips curl into a scowl as you scrutinized your appearance.

Your reflection smiled back at you.

Instead of displaying the obvious shock that you were sure was plain on your face, the image of yourself in the mirror continued to smile. The other you lifted her hand and waved. You couldn't help but feel suspicious. This was not normal. Nothing about this was normal. Magic? Possibly. You weren't even surprised by magic anymore. You hadn't been since the monsters resurfaced, and your awe wore off even more once you started your relationship with Sans.

_"It's okay._ _I_ _'m not going to hurt you!"_ your doppelganger said, raising her hands to show that she was unarmed.

Yeah. That was exactly what something that was going to harm you would say. You turned to leave, not wanting anymore to do with this.

_"Wait!_ _Please don't go!_ _I know you're upset!_ _I want to help!"_ she pleaded.

You stopped, biting your lip as you thought. You shouldn't listen to her, this was weird. This could end badly. But you WERE still upset. You didn't want to go back home. Not yet. You didn't want to face Sans. You knew he hadn't meant what he'd said, but it pained you to think that there was a reason why he had said it in the first place. He wouldn't have said it in the first place if he didn't think it. Even if he only pondered the thought on the darkest of nights after the most heated of arguments.

Deep down, there was a part of him that meant it. You hated how you still loved him, despite that possibility.

That was what made you turn back around and walk back to the mirror, sitting down in front of it and crossing your legs to get more comfortable. Your reflection waited a moment before doing the same, grinning shyly.

"Alright, you've got my attention. How can you help?" You asked tiredly.

The doppelganger's eyes sparkled.

_"You don't want to go back._ _You don't want to face him."_

You didn't speak. Your silence answered for you. She continued.

_"I can take your place."_

You'd been examining a very interesting spot on the floor, but at hearing the other's suggestion, your head shot up to meet her gaze. Your jaw dropped open in disbelief. Was she serious?!

_"And it's not just that, is it?_ _You're getting tired._ _Of living._ _Of being stuck in the same, old job._ _You want to be able to do something worthwhile, something that means something._ _But you can't muster the energy to focus._ _And you think that Sans will be better off without you because you're like this, but you scared of leaving because you don't want to be alone."_

Your eyes filled with tears once more. She was right. You hated your job! It was humliating! And the subject had been the source of more than one argument with Sans. He would tell you to quit and you would say that you couldn't because you couldn't afford to be out of a job. He would say he could take care of you, you would say that you weren't a charity case. He'd protest and say that you were being difficult and you would accuse him of being controlling-

God. You really were a horrible girlfriend, weren't you?

_"I'll still be you._ _I'll just...be the best version of you that you can be!_ _I can be the version of you that you always wanted to be!"_

As tempting as it was, the offer sounded a little too good to be true. Your reflection taking your place and putting on a show of being the version of you that you should've been, but weren't? Fooling your friends and loved ones into thinking she was the real you and that "you" had changed for the better? If she was going to be playing your part, what would happen to you?

"So what's the catch? What would happen to me?"

_"Well, about that._ _The catch is that you would be the one behind the mirror._ _You would have to stay there._ _Forever._ _I mean, you could still watch everything._ _I_ _can take a little mirror with me, so you could always watch._ _But you wouldn't be able to come back."_

So there it was.

...

But would that be so bad?

You started to reflect on your life, weighing up the pros and cons. On the one hand, you had Sans and your friends. And that was it. That was all that was keeping you there. That wasn't really a lot to work with.

But on the other hand there were your parents. It was awful and messy when they got divorced. Now whenever you saw one of them, you would be interrogated by the other about what was going on in their lives. Whether they had a job, where they seeing anyone, what was their new house like? On and on it went and it never failed to stress you out.

Then there was your beloved dog Freckles. She'd been there for you since you were a child, so when she got sick and you'd had to have her put to sleep, you had been devastated. Sans had tried to convince you to get another dog to make you feel better. It had descended into yet another argument. You refused to let your beloved Freckles be replaced. She wasn't just some toy where if lost, you could fill the void by buying a new one. It didn't work like that. She was a member of the family, and it hurt terribly whenever you thought about her. You thought that with Sans being a monster and made up of love and compassion, he would understand more than anyone.

There was your job. Your horrible, low paying job. Being stuffed into a colourful costume of some cartoon character and being made to perform and take pictures with children wasn't exactly what you pictured yourself doing with your life. You hated being pelted with food from the birthday parties. It was annoying having to deal with screaming and crying kids who wanted someone else at their party instead of you and made no effort to hide their disappointment. You hated having to deal with stuck up parents who thought that because they were paying you, they had the right to point out any little mistake you made. And you hated that no matter how much you tried to wash the costume, it still stunk like sweaty feet.

There was your brothers. You had been so close to them as children. And now you couldn't stand the sight of each other. It was infuriating how they both rubbed their seemingly perfect lives in your face. They had both had insane weddings and both had smirked at you knowingly, as if they knew that there was no way you would ever get married. They constantly bragged about their amazing careers, how much money they made and what wonderful vacation they were going on this month.

Next on your list of cons was Sans himself. Well, to be more accurate, it was the arguments you had with him. You couldn't keep fighting with him like this. It was hurting both of you. And for all his faults, you couldn't help but think that he deserved better than a mess like you.

And finally there was your friends. You couldn't help but feel embarrassed and ashamed whenever they looked at you with disappointment when they heard that you and Sans had another disagreement. They didn't even have to know what it was about, they didn't seem to care that Sans might've been the one to start it, or might've been the one in the wrong. They always took his side without even trying to listen to you and you were sick of it. Sometimes you wondered if they actually even liked you to begin with.

Well would you look at that. The cons really do out-weigh the good points of your life. Huh. Guess that really settles it. Strangely enough, despite coming to this conclusion, you couldn't even find it in yourself to be sad about what was going to happen to you.

You turned back to your reflection who was watching and waiting patiently for your final answer. You nodded.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Your reflection blinked in slight surprise. Had she not been expecting you to agree to her deal?

_"Are you absolutely sure?"_ she asked.

You appreciated that she wanted to make sure that you were certain with your decision, but your mind was made up.

"Yes. I'm sure. I want you to take my place."

Now that she was sure that you were certain about your fate, your reflection instructed you to place both hands on the mirror, which you did. She placed her hands in the same place and the mirror began to glow. You closed your eyes against the light and when you opened them, your reflection was in your parents' room and you were behind the glass of the mirror, an endless void surrounding you. You thought you would feel scared, but it was strangely comforting.

Your doppelganger smiled sadly, taking out a small compact mirror from her pocket to show you.

_"Don't worry, I won't break my promise._ _This'll ensure that you'll be able to see what happens."_

You nodded mutely. You trusted her to do better than you ever did.

* * *

Like your reflection said, you were able to watch everything using the mirror she kept hidden in her pocket. At first, you had told yourself that you didn't want to watch. But morbid curiousity had won out. A small part of you wondered if Sans would notice the difference and realize that your reflection wasn't actually you.

He didn't.

When your reflection had wandered back into the house, he had immediately confronted her. He'd drawn her into a hug, apologizing for saying such hurtful things and begging you...her to forgive him. She had hugged him back, saying that she was also at fault and promised to do better. She promised him she would be better from now on.

You heard and saw all of it through the mirror. You couldn't help but be relieved that she was keeping her promise to be a better version of you.

In the days and weeks that followed, there was not one argument between your reflection and Sans. The two seemed to get on better than you and Sans ever did. You weren't quite sure how you felt about that, but you tried not to let it get to you. You had made your choice. There was no going back.

Your friends had certainly noticed the difference and definitely seemed to like your reflection more. They never once looked at her with the disappointment they had directed at you. And when your reflection finally quit your job and started going to college so that she could become a lawyer in order to help the monsters with getting more rights, they couldn't help but admire her for her courage. Sans was ecstatic once she got out of that job and the two wasted no time in making fun of all of the horrible times you had experienced.

Okay. So maybe that hurt a little. But it was okay. Your reflection was keeping her promise. She was being the best version of you that you never had been able to be.

Then the day came when Sans proposed. He _proposed._ To your _reflection!_

You started to feel numb.

Your reflection gushed over the ring, kissing the skeleton monster sweetly. Sans blushed and wrapped his arms around her. Your friends all cheered.

They planned the wedding, agreeing easily. Having fun. Your friends took her dress shopping. The day of the wedding came.

The ceremony was beautiful. _She_ was beautiful. Sans wasted no time in telling her that. You couldn't stop the tears silently sliding down your cheeks as they both said their vows and slipped the rings onto each other's fingers.

They looked downright adorable when having their first dance together and cutting the cake.

You couldn't watch anymore. You didn't want to watch anymore.

You didn't regret your decision. You knew that your reflection would take care of Sans and be good to him.

But that didn't mean that you couldn't feel upset.

It had become obvious to you that Sans loved her more than he ever loved you. Had he ever loved you in the first place? You couldn't be sure.

The smallest part of you wished that he had noticed that it wasn't really you and immediately felt ashamed.

How dare you try and wish away his happiness like that.

You were better off here, in this endless nothingness.

Where you could do no harm to anyone.

You would stay here. Forever.

~~**You didn't regret your decision.** ~~

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? 
> 
> Come bother me on Tumblr: https://lizzie-tempest.tumblr.com/
> 
> okay. editing this was a bitch >:(

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [See me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28156878) by [Shatterflowerdemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterflowerdemon/pseuds/Shatterflowerdemon)
  * [Mirror me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28235595) by [Shatterflowerdemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterflowerdemon/pseuds/Shatterflowerdemon)




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